PARADISE LOST?....THE BITE AND OUTDOOR FOLKS

We finally got some much needed rain this month and it has put the Salmon River here at home in very nice shape. It was starting to get  dry and a lot of people were starting to get a little nervous. It's always nice to have lots of water when the fish are running because nowadays they need all the help they can get.Dark clouds are gathering over the salmon fishery on the Northwest Miramichi and a couple of its tributaries and we sportsmen can expect some rule changes in the very near future. This is a very sensitive and controversial situation that we as New Brunswickers face on the Northwest, as salmon numbers have dropped to the point where the fish are not meeting their spawning potential by even 50%! The problems clearly have to be addressed and you can be sure of one thing,it will be the sportsmen who will be biting the bullet first and hardest. Its always that way anytime a crisis arises in the outdoor world.And maybe it should be that way.After all,sportsmen and women are out there because they LOVE the fish and wildlife that they pursue and since they are deriving so much pleasure from their activities,its only fitting that they should take the lead and make the necessary sacrifices to ensure the perpetuation of the species. The other user group on the Northwest,the natives,will also have to make some sacrifices of their own. Surely,they would not like to lose such a key part of their heritage just to score some political points or to make a few bucks out the back-door.No,if the band leaders and the band members themselves have any sense at all,they will rise above the money and the political bull and do their part to ensure that the runs are perpetuated and grown to a point where the river is once again reaching its potential in terms of returning salmon. Lets all keep our fingers crossed that common sense will prevail.On a lighter note,the new Nova Scotia Government,the NDP,have come out with a press release that said that the rules for harvesting and managing woodlands in that province must be re-vamped. More specifically,the size and frequency of clear-cuts must be reduced in Nova Scotia and that's a good news story in my books.Its a great place to start and I would definitely add a couple of other changes that should be made that would help the wildlife in both Nova Scotia and at home here in New Brunswick.Here in New Brunswick,we have been managing our forests more for wood fibre and less for the well-being of our wildlife.This is evident in the low numbers of our deer on the crown land and the low numbers of song birds.Large clear cuts and spraying defoliant have contributed to these low numbers in a significant manner and should be looked at very closely by the managers,whoever they may be. Big business runs the show here in New Brunswick and we are all painfully aware of the priority of big business-profit,before all else.Just look at the Gulf coast in the US if you want to see what greed will do to our natural world. Hopefully the powers that be here in New Brunswick will wake up and make the changes that HAVE to be made in our forests to ensure that ALL user groups are accommodated.

Bear season is winding down and most of the hunters I talked to were seeing a lot of bears this year.That's good news for any visiting sports hoping to bag a big New Brunswick boar.The trail cam photo above is one of a nice boar that we caught visiting an old dump site in the mine cuts that some people were using.The amount of sign at this spot was crazy,so Ken and I set the camera up to try and get a photo of the nice one we knew was visiting there.We were quite surprised at the number of large boars we had at our sites this year.I guess it pays to do your home-work when selecting bait sites. As of late,bears haven't received much hunting pressure here in this province since most New Brunswickers would much rather hunt their beloved white-tails than bears any day.But with our deer numbers being down the last few years,many native sons have started pursuing this great game animal. I know Ken and I met up with a few new, younger hunters who were just getting started into the sport. It can be a pretty easy,relaxing hunt if your willing to put some miles on and do your homework.Ken and Jamie both took nice average-sized bears just buy driving around scouting and glassing the clear-cuts and fields. Ken was holding out but when he remembered that the bear biologist was coming to speak the next morning,he thought he would take a young bear that was feeding on a winter-killed moose and take it to the seminar so the speaker would have a specimen right there to talk about and examine.Things worked out great and the bear biologist had some good information to pass on to all the attending sportsmen.One fact that surprised both Ken and I was the distance a big boar will wander during the rut and sometimes when targeting  certain food sources. According to the biologist,a big boar will sometimes go as far as eighty kilometers! That's quite a little jaunt!This photo shows me with a white perch taken one evening while fishing with Ken and my good friend,Stephen Doherty and his lovely daughter,Chelsie.Every spring around the first of June,friends and family gather for our annual Perch Party.When the white perch are running strong and the first big spawners come up from the lake,we all get together and catch a bunch of perch and fillet them all out and have a big feed and a little party.It's great fun and the food is always good!This photo shows Ken with a bucket of perch and a pile of fillets he just did up before we headed back home for the party. We like to do the fish up right out on the water,if we can. It's much cleaner and the mess either goes over the side of the boat for chum or in the bait bucket to be used for bear bait. The big news on Grand Lake this year is the landlocked salmon jumping all over the place! We haven't tried fishing them yet,but a couple of buddies have been catching them on small spoons and small black flies,either casting or trolling.From the reports I've been getting,these fish are averaging 20 in. and are making a lot of leaps that are clearing the water by 3-4 ft. This is a real good-news story. Our salmon stocks in Salmon River and its tributaries have been decimated by the fish farms in the Bay of Fundy and this stocking of 6500 fish is going to create some good fishing opportunities that have been lost over the last several years.I just hope that we can get a re-stocking program going for the Salmon River sometime in the near future because we have lost a great fishery since the creation of the salmon farms in the Bay. There was a tremendous run of gaspereau  in Grand Lake this year and the Salmon River was literally choked with tens of thousands of these sea run fish.We have found over the years that the big pickerel bite will slow down at this time because there is just too much food around for those big guys to feed on. The river is just starting to clear out,with huge schools of fish slowly dropping back down the river to the lake on their way back to the ocean. Those big picks. will soon be on the prowl looking for an easy meal and Ken and I will be waiting for them! The word from the commercial fishermen was that the run this year was the biggest in many years,with some saying it was the largest they have ever seen! Its nice to see any species thriving  and our brook trout seem to be doing very well,with many reports of trophy sized sea-run fish in the 6-8 lb. range. I know our local brooks and streams have been producing well the last couple of years and I hope this trend continues in the future.

The Chipman Fish and Game Club held its annual fishing derby last week-end and there was a good turnout of fishermen,both young and old and a good time was had by all. This photo shows Ken and my grand-son,Tyler,weighing in some of his fish.Ken was helping out by weighing the fish as they came in and although Ty didn't win the big prize this year,he did pick up a new life jacket for entering the most species,so he was pretty happy about that. The derby was held at Bruce McLeans Campground on Salmon River this year and everyone got to see a  black bear that the DNR had captured in a live trap.For many,it was their first look at a wild bear and there were some kids with big eyes and open mouths who were amazed to see a black bear up close and personal. Bruce has a nice facility and I would encourage anyone who is looking for a nice campground to stay at to check it out.I know one thing,the fishing is very good right off the shore at the campground,There were tons of fish caught and a wide variety of species were taken during the derby.I mentioned earlier in this post that I was out fishing with Stephen Doherty and his daughter Chelsie and this photo shows Chelsie holding a small shark while on a trip to the Caribbean to study sharks as part of her biology course at university.Chelsie is one of those young girls that any parent would be very proud of and I know that Stephen and Wanda realize what a good student and citizen they have raised in Chelsie.She is not only a good student,but she works two jobs and gives freely of her time volunteering for various organizations.I've known Chels since she was a baby and I can tell you right now you won't find a nicer young lady anywhere.Did I mention that she is also the reigning Miss Petite New Brunswick and will soon be competing in Ottawa for the Miss Petite Canada crown? So Chelsie not only has the smarts but ,as you can tell from the photos,she has the good looks to go with those smarts.Chelsie currently works for the DNR out of Fredericton and whatever her career choices are in the future,you can be sure she will do well in whatever field she chooses.This photo shows Chelsie swimming with a huge shark while on her trip south and I'm here to tell you,that girl has a lot of spunk too!Good luck in the future Chelsie! The Salmon River is in great shape for boating and fishing and Ken and I will be doing full and half day trips this summer that are very affordable for anyone who wants a nice day on the water.We provide a nice shore lunch on these outings and the fishing is fantastic,as well as the scenery.So give me a call or send me an e-mail and we will arrange to get out there on the water here on the beautiful Salmon River. So long for now and Happy Trails to you.......until we meet again!

BLACK BEARS,THE BITE AND OUTDOOR FOLKS

So far this spring,everything seems to be at least a couple of weeks ahead of schedule.The fiddleheads are popped out already and are close to peaking in some areas.The temperatures have been fluctuating between cool dark days and bright warm days,so you never know what to wear until you look out the window.I had one old gent from Carrolls Crossing tell me that the last time he saw a spring like the one we are having this year was back in 1953.That could be so because I was born in that year and I know one thing for sure,I have never seen a spring bear season like this one in all my days!  Each spring after the snow is pretty much gone,Ken and I,as well as Jamie and Dallas,head out to check the roads and clover fields for any fresh sign that we might be able to set up on.We don't just go out blindly setting out baits and hoping a hungry bear will find it.From knowing our hunting areas so well,we pretty much already know were we will see some bear sign and if we find a good set of tracks,we will set up a bait site.On a normal year,all this would be taking place around the first week of May.It is also not uncommon for us to see bears on these spotting excursions.This year,Ken and Jamie were out spotting on the 15th of April and saw nine bears in the week before the season opened!This is unheard of in my time! I said in a previous post last year that Ken had killed a very early bear in the first week of May.At that time,that was the only track we had come across up to that point.This year,we are pre-dating that action by around three weeks!Talk about a difference! Yesterday Jamie decided it was time to put one down.The bear that Jamie took was the fifteenth bear Jamie had seen this season while out spotting.Jamie prefers to hunt bear in this fashion and it works for him because he knows all the best spots to see a grazing bruin and you are usually covering lots of ground and glassing the clover fields and cuttings.

Jamie says this style of hunting black bears beats sitting in a tree stand and getting chewed alive by black-flies anytime! The bear that Jamie took is about average for this area.Certainly not a heavy-weight by any means,it was still a very nice bear.Its coat was in perfect condition and there was zero hair loss.Jamie also made a terrific shot on this bear.His girl-friend and good buddy BJ were both there when Jamie made the shot at two hundred yards, running across the top of a mud-dump.Right through the chest.Sweet!Now many will say"Why didn't he hold out for something bigger?".Well,the reason is,Jamie is first and foremost a meat hunter.He wants to make the kill and get the meat in the freezer.That's just the way it is.Ol' Wes had a lot to do with that attitude,as he raised Kenny up in much the same fashion.Ol' Wes was raised during the Depression years in a family of twelve and he prided himself on being able to go to the duck marsh with three shells and come back with a limit of ducks.It was purely a matter of economics and supper.These two things proved to be great motivators back in Wesley's day and I guess some of it rubbed off on the generations that followed.This bear will be very good eating and it has a beautiful pelt to boot! Congrats Jamie.We also have some very good sized boars coming to our bait sites.Most of the baits we have out are getting hit by multiple bears and some of them are huge!

This nice boar is one of several bears hitting one of our baits.There is a nice cinnamon bear at this site that I had a photo of but I accidentally deleted it. The time and date on this photo is wrong,as you can see.The date was actually May 5@10:12:43.We have several large boars coming in during the day-light hours to this bait and a few others.This photo is one of a yearling posing for the trail cam while his momma and sibling forage about in the bushes.This little family of bears is providing lots of entertainment while on the bait,but they are also eating a lot of the groceries we are lugging to this site.This bear seems to be looking over his shoulder ,as if something is coming in to the bait.Many times a big old boar will wait patiently near the bait,but if he thinks another bear is going to steal his grub,he will barge right in and take control of the situation.This large boar is probably the thing that caused the earlier diner to move along.He doesn't look like the type of bear that would tolerate any company.I love seeing these trophy bear coming in with lots of day-light left.Please note our bait sites do NOT have steel drums or plastic pails laying around.We do not like the look of this type of bait site and we hate the mess it makes in the woods and we refuse to set any of our baits up with steel barrels and plastic pails.We keep our sites clean and free of garbage and debris.We have found that if you tend your baits faithfully,the bears will keep coming and we do make them work a little for their supper by using logs to hide the bait.What you use for bait also is a factor in getting bears to the bait and keeping them coming.Ken and I have experimented with several different concoctions and we think we have come up with a winning combo of smells and food that keeps the big boys coming back for more!The trout are running  now on the Miramichi and Cains River and fishermen are getting some trophy sized sea-trout in the 3-7lb. range.I must say right now that the two fish limit for trout over 12in.is the best rule that has been implemented in a long time.It just makes good sense and it has started to pay big dividends in both the Miramichi and the Cains River.Fishermen pay huge fees to fly in to places in Labrador and Quebec for the chance to catch a trophy brook trout and here you can drive to either river with no difficulty and the cost is probably half of what it would cost to fly in to one of the remote spots.My son Curt,his girl-friend Erica and her father hiked in to a beaver dam on a small brook and got a nice feed of small brookies to go with some fiddleheads and had a nice supper later that day.We have dozens of spots where we can catch a nice feed of trout at any given time,but many times we just hook and release.The five trout limit has increased the trout population substantially and we don't feel one bit guilty keeping a feed of trout once in a while.Many times the population is too high in some of our spots and the trout are stunted in size,so it doesn't hurt to thin them out a bit. I was very encouraged to hear of a strong run of trout on the Newcastle Stream which flows into Grand Lake.I have a lot of history with this beautiful trout stream and it is nice to hear of a wild run of early trout coming up from the lake heading upstream to the headwaters.Normally,the early run of bigger trout would start around the tenth of May,but this year they started around the third week of April! From the reports I got,there were kids and adults alike lining the shores trying to catch some of these nice trout.Many die-hard fishermen followed the run as it made its way upstream,fishing the many deep dark pools that the Newcastle is known for. I became a fly fisherman on the Newcastle Stream many years ago as a young boy of twelve or thirteen.One fine summer day I was fishing a pool with worm and spinner and caught several trout,when I hooked a nice one and lost it before I could get it up on the rocks.No way could I get that fish to take again but I was determined to get him.Someone,I'm assuming it was one of my uncles,suggested trying a fly.So the next morning I crept in to the pool and this time I had an old fly rod and on the leader I had tied in a Grizzly King that I had just bought at Fred Dufours store on the Ridge Road. It was with great anticipation that I cast that small fly into the current just where it started to slow down as the pool got deeper.Wait,wait-There!He took that fly hard and the battle was on! For what seemed like an eternity,I fought that trout and finally brought him to hand.In that moment I became a fly fisherman and that moment will be etched in my memory for as long as I live.I was the proudest boy in the village as I walked home that day many years ago,even if the trout was only fifteen and a half inches long,it was and still is a trophy to me.This photo is one of a false morel mushroom nestled between two sticks that I found growing on the beach in front of my house.My dear Grandmother Boyd first told me about these mushrooms when I was a very young boy. She told me they were good to eat but many people said they were poisonous.That didn't deter my brother Tim and I from enjoying many meals of these delicious mushrooms throughout the years.My grandmother Boyd was an extraordinary woman who taught me many things about life and the natural world,things that I carry with me to this day.I will talk more about her in future posts but for now I would caution my readers about these mushrooms and any other wild mushrooms.KNOW WHAT YOU ARE EATING! The false morel should be fried up crisp because this eliminates the chance of toxins being present in this species. Again,caution should be used because some people are sensitive to wild mushrooms and may experience discomfort or downright illness from ingesting them.

This photo shows my son Curt with a nice bear rug done by Tom Barton.We were up to see Tom on the week-end because I wanted him to do a deer mount for me.I hadn't met Tom before but I was familiar with him from one of the hunting forums on the internet.I must say,I was impressed with Toms open and honest demeanor and we hit it off immediately.Tom does nice work and I told him I would be seeing a lot more of him in the future. After visiting Tom,Curt Ken and I had a nice lunch,then I told the boys I needed a new reel,so off to CT we went. I ended up buying a spin-cast Zebco that was spooled with Cajun line and I can't wait to try it out on the white perch.We have been waiting patiently for the run to start and every evening I have been going down to the shore and trying a few casts.Nothing so far but the usual cast of pickerel,yellow perch,sunfish and chub.The Salmon River is full of gaspereau right now and this has put the bite off a bit,especially for big pickerel.This happens every year when the gaspereau run is on.They just provide too much food for the other species.The trout and white perch follow the gaspereau and gorge on their eggs as they are spawning,so we are hoping to see those tasty white perch show up any day.Until next time,make sure you get out and about and Straight Shootin' and Tight Lines to all!

MARCH---OUT LIKE A LAMB,THE BITE AND N.B. BRUINS

March of 2010 was out like a lamb,with some very good weather from the end of the month until well into April.This made for an early ice-out and the water rose and then went on a steady drop which is continuing as I write this.The water conditions on the 15th of April,the first day of fishing season,were similar to summer conditions,only slightly higher.The water

was very clear and when boating,the man at the helm had to know the river,because it was starting to get treacherous.The photo above shows a sport netting a nice grilse just up river from the highway bridge in Doaktown.Many fishermen don't realize it,but when the water is low,like it is this year,there is a lot of good holding water right in the middle of Doaktown and correspondingly a lot of good fishing right in town.For years now my good friend,Glen D.of Doaktown,has always fished within site of his house and has had no trouble catching fish.Glens whole family are well known sportsmen and guides from Chipman and the Carrolls Crossing area.This is usually the area I stay at and fish in when I'm on the Miramichi.

This is a photo of of Glen and Leroy A.,long-time guide on the Miramichi, taking a smoke break after a morning of fishing .Normally,the first of the season is reserved for fishing with family and friends and this year was no exception.I fished with Glens niece on the first day and then fished with Glens brother Allen and a couple of other buddies fromChipman.I can tell you now that the water conditions were near perfect but the weather was brutally cold!You really must be dressed for these conditions because it can spell the difference between a good trip and a miserable one. The wind was out of the north and east mostly and if you know the little rhyme,you also know it doesn't make for the best fishing conditions.But that being said,the first day was nothing short of fantastic!Donna and I caught fish until our arms ached! It seemed as though one of us or the other was playing a fish at any given time.We played two huge salmon for a total of two hours before the hooks fell out.One salmon in particular was the biggest Atlantic salmon I have ever seen in my life!Donna hooked this fish early on the first day and I knew soon on in the ensuing fight that we would not likely land it.It was just too big!I had to pull anchor and follow it three times to try to get line back.We only got this fish back on the casting line once,the rest of the time it was half way into the backing and taking more before we would pull anchor and chase down some line again.Finally,after a hard fight for an hour,with no sign of giving an inch,the hook just fell out of its mouth.I told Donna I thought this fish was five feet long and weighed fifty pounds and I don't think I was exaggerating at all!Now some of you readers may say"Sure,we heard those fish stories before!"but I got a good look at this fish,as did Donna and it was an absolute mammoth!.I got it to the surface twice,where it came up and wallowed for a moment and then with a flip of the tail,disappeared again and started stripping line.I estimated its tail was at least ten inches wide!I also hooked another salmon shortly after losing that one that I played for an hour and the hook wore a hole in his mouth and fell out.This was also a very large salmon,but nowhere near the size of the first one!This photo shows me with a nice salmon,one of four I caught on the third morning of the season.If you look closely,you can see the fly that I caught that fish on over my left shoulder riding on the water.I could have easily caught my limit of ten fish on both of the first two days of the season.I quit fishing in the afternoon of the third day.I was still catching fish,but the wind started blowing and  it was bitterly cold,so I called it a day and spent the afternoon socializing and having a few beverages and laughs with some old friends.That is one of the most enjoyable parts of these annual excursions to the Miramichi River.The good friends and company and the many stories and tall tales that go with any of these trips really add to the enjoyment had by all.It was a rather odd start to the season because of the conditions and it was very interesting to see how the different guides and sports adapted to these unusual conditions.The ones who didn't choose the right gear and flies many times went fishless.I talked to one guide and I asked him how the fishing was and he responded,"It was terrible". This was on the third day and I had already caught four salmon and lost a couple of others and had numerous hits.I also talked to a couple of acquaintences and they also said they had some tough fishing.I tried to find a common denominator in both of these experiences and the one  thing these gents had in common was their flies.I won't go into this any further but with a predominance of large salmon in the system,you have to be on your game or you won't be IN the game! I also caught some nice native brook trout.All these trout had their regular colors and did not have that shine to them that the sea-run brookies have.This photo shows one of the trout I released while salmon fishing.In total,I caught fifteen fish over two and a half days.Twelve of those fish were large salmon over thirty inches.The other three were grilse.The fish this year were in very good condition and fought very hard.This spring ranks right up there in terms of fish caught,but it was very cold and you had to be rigged up right or you just couldn't stand to be out there very long.This is another photo of a nice salmon with the fly still in the corner of his mouth.It was a great start to the fishing season and we will be fishing for salmon for a few more days,but the fish are starting to move down river already,so the fishing will drop off quickly up river,while the lads down in Blackville will get fishing a little later in the season.One very good site for up- to- date river reports is .http://www.miramichifishingreports.blogspot.com/.Rodney Colford writes this blog and provides some very good information on the fishing conditions on the Miramichi and her tributaries.We will be gearing up for the sea-run brook trout in the middle of May this year.Normally,we don't start looking for these fish until the third week in May but this year everything is a week or two early,so we will start fishing the sea-trout a little earlier.We have a few bear baits out already and Kenney said he had a hit on one of the beaver carcasses he has out. There are a lot of bears around,including some real old smashers.These older bears are well educated and do not act like some of their younger relatives.You must wait them out and often they won't come to the bait until the last light.Sometimes they will not come in until total darkness and then the only thing a hunter can do is change the bait site to a new location nearby or hunt him in the morning and try to catch him on the bait then. Sometimes none of the tricks work and just like some big bucks,these old bruins become almost unkillable.Ken and I will be going after some of these big bears this spring and we will be trying every trick in the book to get them to come in during day-light hours.This is a trail cam photo of one of the bears we will be hunting this spring.We got a photo of him coming to a deer bait we had out and he is a good sized bear.He also has a very nice white V on his chest ,as can be seen in the next photo.If anything,our hunting area has an over-abundance of bear and getting just any bear is usually no trouble.But again,if you want a big one,you have to hunt accordingly and be prepared to go home with an empty tag if Lady Luck doesn't shine on you.TROPHY ANIMALS DON"T COME EASY! If they did,there wouldn't be any challenge to it and I guess it wouldn't be called hunting anymore,would it! The opportunities are here in abundance,whether you are fishing for the King of sport fish,Atlantic salmon,or hunting for trophy black bears.Here at Hargrove and Bauer we will do our best to put our sports in the thick of things,so don't hesitate to give me a call or shoot me an e-mail to arrange your trip to the North Woods of beautiful New Brunswick! Until next time,Tight Lines and Straight Shooting to all!